Semiconductor integrated circuit device and semiconductor device

ABSTRACT

Even when a driven circuit has a large-scale load, a small-scale step-down driver circuit can supply an internal potential to the driven circuit at high speed. A semiconductor integrated circuit device includes a step-down driver circuit which supplies, to a driven circuit to be driven by an internal potential lower than an external potential supplied from an external power supply, the internal potential. The step-down driver circuit includes an NMOS transistor having a drain coupled to an external power supply terminal to be coupled to the external power supply and a source to be coupled to a voltage supply point of the driven circuit and a driver circuit to drive the gate of the NMOS transistor.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-103136 filed onMay 24, 2017 including the specification, drawings and abstract isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to semiconductor devices and moreparticularly to semiconductor integrated circuit devices including astep-down driver circuit for supplying a stepped-down potential to adriven circuit with a large load.

Generally, a driven circuit which uses an internal potential lower thanan external power supply is configured to have power supplied from aninternal step-down power supply circuit which generates a constantvoltage based on a reference potential. The driven circuit is, whenbeing active, supplied with an internal potential and is, when beinginactive, kept reset to GND potential (reference potential). Generally,a PMOS transistor, which is a switch element, is provided between theinternal step-down power supply circuit and the driven circuit to besupplied with power. Power supply to the driven circuit is controlled bycontrolling turning on/off of the switch element.

Driven circuits to use an internal potential include, for example,driven circuits with large-scale loads such as sense amplifier drivercircuits. According to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No.2000-57773, to reduce power routing of a step-down power supply so as toreduce circuit area requirement, a sense amplifier driver circuit todrive a large-load sense amplifier power supply line is provided foreach array. The sense amplifier driver circuit includes a PMOStransistor having a switching function and a step-down function andsupplies a stepped-down potential generated by stepping down an externalvoltage supplied from an external power supply using the PMOS transistorto a sense amplifier power supply line. In concrete terms, thestepped-down potential is generated by having the gate potential of thePMOS transistor controlled by a step-down circuit (differentialamplifier circuit).

SUMMARY

In cases where an internal step-down power supply circuit is provided tosupply an internal potential to a driven circuit and the driven circuithas a large-scale load, the following problems are caused. First, theinternal step-down power supply circuit requiring a large current supplycapacity increases in area. Also, since it is necessary to supply alarge drive current via a switch element provided between the internalstep-down power supply circuit and the driven circuit, the switchelement is required to have a large capacity and, as a result, becomeslarge. When the switch element becomes larger, the load of driving thegate of the element also increases to result in a lower switching speedor a larger driving power requirement.

Furthermore, when the switch element is turned on, a large currentinstantaneously flows and a transient power supply noise is generated inthe step-down power supply (internal power supply). Suppressing thepower supply noise requires a large stabilization capacity to be coupledand this leads to an area (cost) increase. Generally, the internalstep-down power supply circuit also supplies an internal power supply toother logic circuits and analog circuits. When, in a circuit asdescribed above, power supply noise is propagated through power supplylines, circuit characteristics may vary and operating margin errors mayoccur. This problem may be avoided by dividing the internal step-downpower supply circuit, but as the number of internal step-down powersupply circuits increases, an area (cost) increase will result.

In the sense amplifier driver circuit according to Japanese UnexaminedPatent Application No. 2000-57773 on the other hand, many PMOStransistors are made to perform both a switching function and astepping-down function. Therefore, when the external power supplyvoltage lowers and the capacity of the step-down circuit (differentialamplifier circuit) to control the gate voltages of the PMOS transistorsdecreases, necessity to make the step-down circuit larger increases soas to secure a required driving capacity. This results in an areaincrease. Also, though it is necessary to turn on/off the step-downcircuit in coordination with active operation of a selected block, thestep-down circuit (differential amplifier circuit) being an analogcircuit may not be able to operate quickly enough.

Other objects and novel features of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following specification and accompanying drawings.Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. Sho 60 (1985)-48525 describesa related-art technique in which a MOS-FET having a drain coupled to apower supply unit supplies power to a circuit. The technique accordingto this patent literature is aimed at reducing the power consumptionwhen the circuit is in a standby-state and the patent literaturecontains no description as to providing an internal power supplydifferent from an external power supply.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a semiconductorintegrated circuit device includes a step-down driver circuit whichsupplies, to a driven circuit to be driven by an internal potentiallower than an external potential supplied from an external power supply,the internal potential. The step-down driver circuit includes an NMOStransistor having a drain coupled to an external power supply terminalto be coupled to the external power supply and a source to be coupled toa voltage supply point of the driven circuit and a driver circuit todrive the gate of the NMOS transistor.

According to the above embodiment, even when a driven circuit has alarge-scale load, a small-scale step-down driver circuit can supply aninternal potential to the driven circuit at high speed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a concept of a step-down driver circuit.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a step-down driver circuit for on-timecontrol.

FIG. 3 shows operation waveforms of the circuit shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a modified driver circuit.

FIG. 5 shows operation waveforms of the circuit shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a modified gate voltage (VG) generationcircuit.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a step-down driver circuit including alimiter circuit.

FIG. 8 shows operation waveforms of the circuit shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 shows a DRAM circuit configuration.

FIG. 10 shows operation waveforms of the sense amplifier driver circuitshown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 shows a sense amplifier driver circuit suitable for alow-voltage power supply DRAM.

FIG. 12 shows operation waveforms of the sense amplifier driver circuitshown in FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 shows a sense amplifier driver circuit suitable for alow-voltage power supply DRAM.

FIG. 14 shows operation waveforms of the sense amplifier driver circuitshown in FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 shows a sense amplifier driver circuit suitable for alow-voltage power supply DRAM.

FIG. 16 shows operation waveforms of the sense amplifier driver circuitshown in FIG. 15.

FIG. 17 shows a sense amplifier driver circuit suitable for low powerconsumption operation.

FIG. 18 shows a DRAM memory array layout.

FIG. 19 shows an example of a modified step-down driver circuit.

FIG. 20 shows operation waveforms of the circuit shown in FIG. 19.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based onthe attached drawings.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 illustrates the concept of a step-down driver circuit of a firstembodiment of the present invention. The step-down driver circuit 10generates a target internal potential VINT from an external potentialVDD supplied from an external power supply and supplies the internalpotential VINT to a driven circuit 1. The step-down driver circuit 10includes an NMOS transistor 11 having a drain terminal coupled to anexternal power supply terminal which is coupled to the externalpotential VDD, a gate terminal coupled to a driver circuit (a logiccircuit, for example, an inverter) and a source terminal coupled to avoltage supply point of the driven circuit 1.

In the step-down driver circuit 10 of the present embodiment, the NMOStransistor 11 generates the internal potential VINT and also serves as avoltage supply switch for the driven circuit 1, thereby practicallyallowing the driven circuit 1 to be supplied with power not from aninternal step-down power supply circuit but from an externallarge-capacity power supply. This allows the driven circuit 1, even ifit is a large-load circuit, to be supplied with power while minimizingeffects, for example, power supply noise on other circuits.

Furthermore, as being described in detail later, the circuit can becontrolled as described below, for example, to enhance the accuracy ofsupplying the target potential VINT to a voltage supply point or tospeed up power supply operation. Such circuit controls can be appliedeither individually or in combination depending on the accuracyrequirement of power supply to the driven circuit 1.

Firstly, a timing generation circuit 13 for controlling the on time ofthe NMOS transistor 11 controls the on/off state of the NMOS transistor11 via the driver circuit 12.

Secondly, a gate voltage (VG) generation circuit 14 controls a gatevoltage VG to be applied to the gate of the NMOS transistor 11. The VGgeneration circuit 14 supplies the voltage VG as a power supply on thehigh potential side of the driver circuit 12.

Thirdly, a limiter circuit 15 coupled to the voltage supply pointinhibits the voltage supplied to the driven circuit 1 from rising overthe target voltage VINT.

Timing Generation Circuit 13 and Gate Voltage (VG) Generation Circuit 14

An example of on time control performed for the NMOS transistor 11 bythe timing generation circuit 13 will be described. FIG. 2 shows anexample circuit configuration. The VG generation circuit 14 outputs apotential VINTN. The VG generation circuit 14 is configured as adifferential amplifier and a reference voltage Vref is set to be higherthan the internal potential VINT by a threshold (Vth1) for the NMOStransistor 11, i.e. Vref=VINT+Vth1 in the present case. Note that whenVref is set to be higher, the source potential of the NMOS transistor 11included in the step-down driver circuit 10 also becomes higher. Whenthe voltage to be supplied to the driven circuit 1 is higher than theinternal potential VINT, the reference voltage Vref is to be set higher.The driver circuit 12 is configured as an inverter and includes a PMOStransistor which uses the output potential VINTN of the VG generationcircuit 14 as a source. The output of the driver circuit 12 is coupledto the gate of the NMOS transistor 11 that generates the requiredinternal potential VINT while also serving as a supply switch for thedriven circuit 1. The on/off state of the gate of the NMOS transistor 11is controlled by the timing generation circuit 13.

FIG. 3 shows operation waveforms of the circuit shown in FIG. 2 alongwith an example waveform for comparison. The example waveform is basedon an assumed configuration in which the internal potential VINT to besupplied to the driven circuit 1 is generated in an internal step-downpower supply circuit and in which a PMOS transistor is used as a supplyswitch for the driven circuit 1. In FIG. 3, the example waveform at thevoltage supply point 20 is represented by a chain line. When the PMOStransistor turns on, the voltage at the voltage supply point 20 rises toreach the internal potential VINT in a certain period of time.

In the circuit shown in FIG. 2, when the gate voltage VG of the NMOStransistor 11 is GND (reference potential), the NMOS transistor 11 is inan off state (not conducting), but when the output of the driver circuit12 rises causing the gate voltage VG to reach VINTN (see the broken linein FIG. 3), the NMOS transistor 11 enters an on state (conducting) andthe voltage at the voltage supply point 20 starts rising. The drivercircuit has a characteristic in which, when the gate voltage VG ismaintained at VINTN causing the voltage at the voltage supply point torise and approach the target potential VINT, the gate-to-source voltageof the NMOS transistor 11 approaches the threshold Vth1 and theconducting performance of the NMOS transistor 11 weakens causing thevoltage rise to sharply slow down. This brings the supply voltage towardsaturation, but without the voltage rise completely stopping, thevoltage continues slightly rising (see the solid line in FIG. 3).

Therefore, to enhance the accuracy of the potential supplied to thedriven circuit 1, in the circuit shown in FIG. 2, the timing of turningoff of the NMOS transistor 11 is controlled. The timing generationcircuit 13 can adjust the target potential VINT by, when time t1 passesafter having the output VG of the driver circuit 12 reach VINTN andputting the NMOS transistor 11 into an on state, bringing the output VGof the driver circuit 12 down to GND (reference potential) and puttingthe NMOS transistor 11 into an off state. The timing generation circuit13 can be formed with a delay circuit which delays an enable signal foractivating the driven circuit 1 by time t1. Alternatively, a disablesignal may be generated when a predetermined number of clocks pass afterreceipt of an enable signal and then timing of turning the NMOStransistor 11 off may be controlled using the disable signal and theenable signal. The VG generation circuit 14 is desirably capable ofadjustment to maintain optimum voltage generation regardless ofproduction process variation, temperature variation and external voltagevariation. When this is realized, the output of VINTN is stabilized andthe accuracy of the potential supplied to the driven circuit 1 can beenhanced.

As shown by the operation waveforms shown in FIG. 3, the NMOS transistor11 shown in FIG. 2 exceeds in driving performance the example PMOStransistor for comparison. This is for the following reasons. The NMOStransistor is higher in mobility than the PMOS transistor. Also,immediately after the switch transistor used as a supply switch turnson, whereas, in the example for comparison, drain voltage Vds=VINT, inthe circuit configuration shown in FIG. 2, drain voltage Vds=VDDrealizing a higher potential difference than in the example forcomparison. Furthermore, whereas, in the example for comparison, thegate voltage Vgs=VINT, in the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 2, thegate voltage Vgs=VINTN=VINT+Vth1, that is, the on state of the switchtransistor is enhanced. Hence, the NMOS transistor 11 shown in FIG. 2can achieve higher driving performance, so that the driven circuit canbe supplied with power at higher speed. Or, it is possible to reduce thesize of the NMOS transistor 11 or the area of the control circuitincluding the driver circuit 12.

Moreover, in cases where the driven circuit 1 has a large-scale load,the current for providing the internal potential VINT is supplieddirectly from the external power supply VDD that is powerful withrespect to the drain of the switch transistor, so that noise of thepower supply line is reduced. Furthermore, in cases where there areplural circuits to use the internal potential VINT, driven circuits oflarge-scale loads may use the step-down driver circuit of the presentembodiment whereas the internal step-down power supply circuit togenerate the internal potential VINT is used to supply voltage to drivencircuits of low loads. In this way, high-load driven circuits andlow-load driven circuits can use separate current paths, so that noisepropagation problems do not easily develop (see the configuration shownin FIG. 6).

Also, the VG generation circuit 14 that is a step-down circuit includinga differential amplifier circuit is to drive only the driver circuit 12that is a logic circuit, so that the drive load is small. Hence, the VGgeneration circuit 14 can be realized as a small-area, small-powercircuit. Though, in the example shown in FIG. 2, the driver circuit 12has an inverter configuration, a logic circuit of an AND configuration,a NAND configuration or a NOR configuration may also be employeddepending on the control to be performed.

FIG. 4 shows a driver circuit 12′ as an example of a modified drivercircuit. The driver circuit 12′ can switch-control the gate voltage VGof the NMOS transistor 11. The driver circuit 12′ to control the gatevoltage VG includes two PMOS transistors 32 and 33. The source terminalof the PMOS transistor 32 is coupled to the stepped-down potential VINTNsupplied from the VG generation circuit 14. The source terminal of thePMOS transistor 33 is coupled to an external power supply terminalcoupled to the external voltage VDD.

FIG. 5 shows operation waveforms of the circuit shown in FIG. 4. First,the external potential VDD is applied to the gate voltage VG of the NMOStransistor 11. As a result, at the NMOS transistor 11, the gate voltageVgs=VDD, thereby, further enhancing the on state of the switchtransistor relative to the circuit shown in FIG. 2 and realizing higherdriving performance. Note that the external voltage VDD is applied onlyduring an initial short time period t0 and that, after passage of timet0, the PMOS transistor included in the driver circuit 12′ is put in anoff state, thereby, causing the gate voltage VG to subsequently drop tothe stepped-down potential VINTN (period from t0 to t1). Furthermore,after passage of time t1, the NMOS transistor 11 is put in an off stateso as to inhibit the potential of the voltage supply point 20 fromrising beyond the target potential VINT. In cases where, like in theabove example, a high voltage like the external potential VDD is set asthe gate potential VG, it is necessary to take into consideration thevoltage resistance of the NMOS transistor 11. To apply a high gatevoltage VG to the NMOS transistor 11, a MOS transistor with a highvoltage resistance may be used as the NMOS transistor 11.

In the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 4, enhancing the drivingperformance of the NMOS transistor 11 by temporarily increasing the gatevoltage Vgs makes it possible to supply a potential to the drivencircuit 1 at a higher speed. Or, alternatively, the size of the NMOStransistor 11 may be reduced. In the example shown in FIG. 4, theexternal voltage VDD is temporarily applied to the gate voltage Vgs ofthe NMOS transistor 11, but a higher voltage than the voltage VDD may beapplied as long as the potential is supplied from an external powersupply.

FIG. 6 shows (centering on modified portions) an example of modificationof the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 4. The modification exampleincludes a diode element 22 replacing the VG generation circuit 14 shownin FIG. 6. This modification is effective in cases where an internalstep-down power supply circuit 24 to generate the internal potentialVINT is separately provided. The internal step-down power supply circuit24 steps down the external power supply VDD and supplies the internalpotential VINT to a low-load internal circuit 25. Also, the internalstep-down power supply circuit 24 is capable of adjustment to maintainoptimum voltage generation regardless of production process variation,temperature variation and external voltage variation so as to stablysupply the internal potential VINT. The internal circuit 25 is, forexample, a logic circuit or an analog circuit. Also, the internalstep-down power supply circuit 24 can supply the internal potential VINTto plural internal circuits. After the gate voltage VG of the NMOStransistor 11 is charged up to the external potential VDD (up to timet0), the gate voltage VG is discharged to a potential point having theinternal potential VINT via a diode element 22 (period from t0 to t1).This causes a voltage equaling the sum of the stepped-down potentialVINT and the forward voltage Vf of the diode element 22 to appear on theanode side of the diode element 22. The forward voltage Vf is to be madeapproximately equal the threshold Vth1 of the NMOS transistor 11.

Or, the diode element 22 may be replaced by a MOS transistor 23 mountedin a diode connection. The MOS transistor 23 may be an element identicalwith the NMOS transistor 11. Thus, using a diode element (or a MOStransistor in a diode connection) makes it unnecessary to mount astep-down circuit for generating the stepped-down potential VINTN.

An alternative modification example is also possible in which thevoltage at the voltage supply point 20 is monitored and the outputvoltage of the VG generation circuit 14 is feedback-adjusted so as toobtain the target stepped-down potential VINT. Such modification can berealized, for example, by adding a circuit to feedback-adjust thereference voltage Vref for the VG generation circuit 14 shown in FIG. 2.Since the feedback control path includes an analog determination circuitwhich compares the voltage at the voltage supply point 20 with thetarget potential VINT used as a reference, quick circuit activation isdifficult, but the modification is practicable by utilizing time t0 usedas a period for VG driving with the initial external potential VDD forcircuit activation.

Limiter Circuit

An example case in which control is performed using a limiter circuit tostably maintain the target potential VINT after being reached at thevoltage supply point 20 and prevent the voltage at the voltage supplypoint 20 from rising will be described below. The circuit configurationshown in FIG. 7 includes an NMOS transistor 31 used as a limiter circuit15 whose gate and drain are coupled to the voltage supply point 20 andwhose source is diode-coupled to a constant voltage power supply VDDL.FIG. 8 shows operation waveforms. When the NMOS transistor 11 is turnedon, the internal stepped-down potential is supplied. The potential ofthe constant-voltage power supply VDDL is set to be the potential VINTless a threshold Vth2 of the NMOS transistor 31 so as to cause thelimiter circuit 15 to turn on when the target potential VINT is reached.This makes it possible to accurately maintain the potential at thevoltage supply point 20 without controlling the on time of the NMOStransistor 11. The limiter circuit 15 may be an alternative elementhaving a diode characteristic, for example, a PMOS transistor, a bipolartransistor or a PN junction. Still alternatively, a circuit to make asmall leak current flow may be used to remove excessive charges at thevoltage supply point 20.

In still another example of modification in which an internal step-downpower supply circuit to generate the internal potential VINT isseparately provided as shown in FIG. 6, a switch element (e.g., a MOStransistor) may be arranged between a potential point (stepped-downpotential point) to which the internal potential VINT is supplied fromthe internal step-down power supply circuit and the driven circuit 1.For this modification, an example circuit configuration is shown in FIG.19 and operation waveforms are shown in FIG. 20. First, a driver circuit35 supplies the external potential VDD as the gate voltage VG1 of theNMOS transistor and, when the potential of the voltage supply point 20rises to around the potential VINT (at time t0), the gate voltage VG1 ofthe NMOS transistor is dropped to the reference potential GND to turn onthe switch element 36 provided between the stepped-down potential pointVINT and the driven circuit 1. In this way, the voltage applied can bestabilized. In this case, the switch element 36 is configured with anNMOS transistor with the gate voltage VG2 set to VDD. The stepped-downpotential point VINT is supplied with the internal stepped-downpotential VINT generated at the internal step-down power supply circuit24. In cases where the driven circuit 1 is a circuit whose load is largewhen making a transition from an inactive state to an active state whilehaving a small load after entering an active state, the load voltagevariation is small after the driven circuit 1 enters an active state andthe potential VINT is not required to enable supply of a large current.This makes it possible to greatly reduce noise generation. Also, withnoise generation suppressed in this way, noise generation in the drivencircuit 1 is very small and other internal circuits to which thestepped-down potential generated by the internal step-down power supplycircuit is supplied are not adversely affected.

Even though, in the configuration of the present embodiment, the drainterminal of the NMOS transistor 11 is coupled to an external powersupply terminal to which the external voltage VDD is applied, alow-impedance element may be inserted between the drain terminal of theNMOS transistor 11 and the external power supply terminal. The lowimpedance element may be, for example, a PMOS switch element in a staticon state or an ESD element to be coupled to the external power supplyterminal. The PMOS switch element is used, for example, to provide atesting function or a power on/off control function or to implement ameasure against ESD. The ESD element may be a diffusion layer region ofa transistor or diode, or a resistor element inserted as a measureagainst ESD. Also, since the power supply metal wiring leading from theexternal power supply terminal to the drain terminal of the NMOStransistor has an impedance, it can be regarded that a low-impedanceelement is provided.

Second Embodiment

In the following, an embodiment in which a step-down driver circuit isapplied to a sense amplifier driver circuit of a DRAM (Dynamic RandomAccess Memory) will be described. The sense amplifier driver circuitincluded in a DRAM is a typical circuit for driving a large-load circuitusing a step-down power supply. FIG. 9 shows a DRAM circuitconfiguration and FIG. 10 shows operation waveforms of the senseamplifier driver circuit. The circuit configuration is applicable toboth discrete DRAM chips and chips each including both a logic circuitand a DRAM.

A large number of memory cells 51 are respectively coupled to word linesWL and bit lines BL (BL(T) or BL(N)). Each word line driver circuit 52is supplied with a power supply voltage VPP on the high potential sideand a power supply voltage VKK on the low potential side. Each pair ofbit lines BL(T) and BL(N) are coupled with a sense amplifier circuit 53.The sense amplifier circuit 53 has a latch configuration including apair of PMOS and NMOS transistors. A shared source line SAP on the highpotential side and a shared source line SAN on the low potential side ofthe sense amplifier circuit 53 are driven by a sense amplifier drivercircuit 60 to be described in detail later. The bit line pair is alsocoupled with a precharge circuit 54 which, in a precharged state, setsthe bit lines BL(T) and BL(N) to a certain voltage HVDD and a columnselection switch 55 which couples the bit line voltages appearing in thebit lines BL(T) and BL(N) to a data bus DBUS. The column selectionswitch 55 is controlled by a column selection signal YSW.

First, the precharge circuit 54 equalizes the potentials of the bitlines BL(T) and BL(N). Subsequently, a word line WL is selected and,when a fine potential difference appears between the pair of bit linesdepending on the presence of charges in a capacitor included in thememory 51, the sense amplifier circuit is activated and the potentialdifference between the bit lines BL(T) and BL(N) is amplified.

As for power supply voltage settings, for example, the external supplypower VDD is 1.8 V and the power supply potential VINT for the senseamplifier circuit 53 is 1.0 V obtained by stepping down the externalpower supply VDD. With the power supply potential for the senseamplifier circuit 53 set low, the overdrive power supply potential VODfor speeding up the operation of the sense amplifier circuit is set to1.2 V.

The sense amplifier driver circuit 60 is a large load circuit forsimultaneously operating hundreds to thousands of sense amplifiercircuits 53 as a group. The memory array includes a large number of suchcircuit groups and some of the circuit groups are activated for use. Thesense amplifier driver circuit 60 that has to simultaneously activate alarge number of sense amplifier circuits has a heavy load and is,therefore, configured as shown in FIG. 9.

The sense amplifier driver circuit 60 includes an NMOS transistor 61 fordriving a shared source line SAP on the high potential side of the senseamplifier circuits, a PMOS transistor 62, an NMOS transistor 63 fordriving a shared source line SAN on the low potential side of the senseamplifier circuits, and driver circuits for respectively drivingtransistors 61 to 63. The NMOS transistor 61 is controlled by a gatesignal SEP1 and has a drain coupled to an external power supply terminalwhich is coupled with an external power supply VDD and a source coupledto the shared source line SAP on the high potential side. The NMOStransistor 61 conducts when the gate signal SEP1 is at high level (VDD)and is turned off when the gate signal SEP1 is at low level (GND). ThePMOS transistor 62 is controlled by a gate signal SEP2 and has a sourcecoupled to the internal power supply potential point VINT and a draincoupled to the shared source line SAP on the high potential side. ThePMOS transistor 62 conducts when the gate signal SEP2 is at low level(GND) and is turned off when the gate signal SEP2 is at high level(VINT). The NMOS transistor 63 is controlled by a gate signal SEN andhas a drain coupled to the shared source line SAN on the low potentialside and a source coupled to the reference potential (GND). The NMOStransistor 63 conducts when the gate signal SEN is at high level (VINT)and is turned off when the gate signal SEN is at low level (GND). Theinternal power supply potential VINT is generated by an internalstep-down power supply circuit, not shown, using the external powersupply VDD. The word line drive potential VPP is generated by aninternal step-up power supply circuit, not shown, using the externalpower supply VDD.

The circuit operation will be described with reference to the operationwaveforms shown in FIG. 10. When the gate signal SEP1 rises to highlevel (VDD) causing the NMOS transistor 61 to turn on, a current flowsin from the external power supply VDD to which the drain terminal iscoupled. As a result, the potential of the shared source line on thehigh potential side rapidly rises. An overdrive assumed potential VODwhich is a target voltage-rise value has been set to, for example, 1.2V. When the high level (VDD) of the gate signal SEP1 is higher than theoverdrive assumed potential VOD by a threshold voltage of the NMOStransistor 61, the shared source line on the high potential side is setto the overdrive assumed potential VOD. When the target potential isreached, the gate signal SEP1 is set to low level (GND) causing the NMOStransistor 61 to turn off and the gate signal SEP2 is set to low level(GND) causing the PMOS transistor 62 to turn on so as to return the bitline BL(T) or BL (N) to the potential VINT (=1.0 V).

In the sense amplifier driver circuit 60 shown in FIG. 9, a current issupplied from the external power supply VDD until the potential of theshared source line SAP on the high potential side rises and reaches theoverdrive assumed potential VOD. This makes it unnecessary to prepare aninternal step-down power supply circuit capable of supplying a largecurrent. The shared source line SAP on the high potential side issubsequently supplied with a current from an internal step-down powersupply circuit which generates the internal power supply potential VINT.In this stage, however, only a small portion of the sense amplifiercircuits coupled to the sense amplifier driver circuit 60 operaterequiring only the current consumption caused by the operation to besupplemented and this does not require any high current supplycapability. Namely, while requiring no internal step-down power supplycircuit which requires a large current supply, the NMOS transistor 61 isenabled to supply a large drive current. This is effective in speedingup circuit operation and reducing the circuit area.

In recent years, DRAM power supply voltages have been lowered, and thereare cases in which external voltage VDD is as low as the internal powersupply voltage VINT used in related arts. This tendency is in progressin the field of LSIs with built-in DRAMs by being affected by a trendtoward lower logic power supply voltages. In the field of other types ofDRAMs, too, a similar trend has been starting to be seen first in thefield of faster DRAMs.

An example of low-voltage power supply DRAM reflecting the abovetendency will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. A DRAMcore basic power supply VDD (=VINT=1.0 V) and an external high-voltagepower supply VEX (=VPP=2.5 V) for driving word lines are supplied fromoutside. Since the memory circuit configuration is similar to that shownin FIG. 9, FIG. 11 shows only the portions directly related with thesense amplifier driver circuit.

A sense amplifier driver circuit 70 includes an NMOS transistor 71 whichdrives the shared source line SAP on the high potential side of thesense amplifier, a PMOS transistor 72, an NMOS transistor 73 whichdrives the shared source line SAN on the low potential side, and drivercircuits which respectively drive transistors 71 to 73. The NMOStransistor 71 is controlled by the gate signal SEP1 and has a draincoupled to an external power supply VEX and a source coupled to theshared source line SAP on the high potential side. Though not shown, aninternal step-down power supply circuit which generates a stepped-downpotential VOD2 is provided, and the stepped-down potential VOD2 issupplied as a power supply voltage to a driver circuit to drive the NMOStransistor 71. Therefore, the high level of the gate signal SEP1 is thestepped-down potential VOD2 supplied from the external power supply VEX.Alternatively, an internal step-up power supply circuit which suppliesthe potential VOD2 generated by stepping up an external power supply VDDmay be provided. In the present second embodiment, too, the internalpower supply circuit is desirably capable of adjustment to maintainoptimum voltage generation regardless of production process variation,temperature variation and external voltage variation. By appropriatelyadjusting the potential VOD2, bit line voltage BL(T) or BL (N) can beadjusted to be around the target overdrive assumed potential (=1.2 V).For example, the stepped-down potential VOD2 can be made to equal thesum of the overdrive assumed potential VOD and threshold Vth3 of theNMOS transistor 71. Also, the PMOS transistor 72 is controlled by thegate signal SEP2 and has a source coupled to the external power supplyVDD and a drain coupled to the shared source line SAP on the highpotential side. The PMOS transistor 72 conducts when the gate signalSEP2 is at low level (GND) and is turned off when the gate signal SEP2is at high level (VDD). The NMOS transistor 73 is controlled by the gatesignal SEN and has a drain coupled to the shared source line SAN on thelow potential side and a source coupled to the reference potential(GND). The NMOS transistor 73 conducts when the gate signal SEN is athigh level (VDD) and is turned off when the gate signal SEN is at lowlevel (GND).

The operation of the sense amplifier driver circuit 70 will be describedwith reference to operation waveforms shown in FIG. 12. When the gatesignal SEP1 rises to high level (VOD2) turning on the NMOS transistor71, a current comes in from the external high-voltage power supply VEXthrough the drain terminal coupled thereto causing the potential of theshared source line SAP on the high potential side to rapidly rise. Whenthe potential of the shared source line SAP reaches a target value, thegate signal SEP1 is returned to low level (GND) causing the NMOStransistor 71 to turn off. Subsequently, the gate signal SEP2 is set low(GND), the PMOS transistor 72 is turned on, and the bit line BL(T) orBL(N) is returned to the external potential VDD via the shared sourceline SAP on the high potential side.

The NMOS transistor 71 of the sense amplifier driver circuit 70 usingthe external high-voltage power supply VEX for the drain voltage canrealize high-speed performance. The sense amplifier driver circuit 70also uses the external potential VDD, as it is, as the operating voltageof the sense amplifier circuit, so that no internal step-down powersupply circuit for generating the internal power supply potential VINTis required. To generate the internal potential VOD2, an internalstep-down power supply circuit or an internal step-up power supplycircuit is included, but the power supply circuit is required only fordriving the gate voltage of the NMOS transistor 71. Therefore, with theload being small, no large current capacity is required, no large areaincrease is required for the power supply circuit or power supply lines,and no large noise increase is caused.

In the example shown in FIG. 12, when the word line drive potential VPPis high or low relative to the external high-voltage power supplypotential VEX, the word line drive potential VPP may be generated usingan internal step-up power supply circuit or an internal step-down powersupply circuit based on the external high-voltage power supply potentialVEX.

Another example of a sense amplifier driver circuit to which an externallow-voltage power supply can be applied will be described with referenceto FIGS. 13 and 14. A sense amplifier driver circuit 80 shown in FIG. 13includes, as pull-up transistors, an NMOS transistor 81 controlled bythe gate signal SEP, a PMOS transistor 82 controlled by the gate signalSEP2 and, in addition, a PMOS transistor 83 which receives the gatesignal SEP3. First, the NMOS transistor 81 is turned on when the gatesignal SEP1 rises to high level to be the internal potential VOD2. Theinternal potential VOD2 is generated from the external high-voltagepower supply VEX at an internal step-up power supply circuit.Subsequently, the NMOS transistor 81 is turned off by the gate signalSEP1 and the PMOS transistor 83 is turned on by the gate signal SEP3.The source potential of the PMOS transistor 83 is the internal potentialVOD that is generated from the external high-voltage power supply VEX atan internal step-down power supply circuit. The gate signal SEP3 keepsthe PMOS transistor 83 on for a while so as to maintain an overdrivestate of the bit line. Afterwards, the PMOS transistor 83 is turned offby the gate signal SEP3 and also the PMOS transistor 82 is turned on bythe gate signal SEP2, returning the bit line BL(T) or BL(N) to theexternal potential VDD.

By increasing the gate voltage SEP1 of the pull-up NMOS transistor 81,the sense amplifier operation in an initial stage can be made fasterand, after a target potential is reached in a short period of time, bykeeping the bit line at the overdrive voltage of the internal potentialVOD (=1.2 V) for a while, writing of a high potential to a memory cell(target potential=VDD) is made faster. This operation requires threetypes of pull-up transistors. However, since the NMOS transistor 81requiring the largest current supply among the three pull-up transistorshas high capability, the transistors can be made smaller and thiscancels the area increase caused by increasing the number of drivertransistors. As a result, almost no area increase occurs for the senseamplifier driver circuit as a whole. Thus, the write and restorecharacteristics that determine the cycle performance of the DRAM can bemade faster involving almost no area increase.

Still another example of a DRAM sense amplifier driver circuit will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16. In the example, a step-downcircuit making use of a driver circuit 93 of an NMOS transistor 91instead of the PMOS transistor 83 shown in FIG. 13 is driven. The drivercircuit 93 includes a PMOS transistor 94, a PMOS transistor 95, anoperational amplifier 96, and an NMOS transistor 97. When the PMOStransistor 94 is turned on by a timing circuit, not shown, a currentflows into the gate terminal of the NMOS transistor 91 from the externalhigh-voltage power supply VEX causing the gate potential SEP1 to be theexternal potential VEX during an initial period of sensing. This causesthe potential of the shared source line SAP on the high potential sideto rise. The operation amplifier (differential amplifier circuit) 96, onthe other hand, keeps comparing the potential of the shared source lineSAP on the high potential side and a reference potential VOD. When thepotential of the shared source line SAP on the high potential sidereaches the reference potential VOD, the PMOS transistor 94 and the NMOStransistor 97 are turned off and the PMOS transistor 95 is turned on.With the output of the operational amplifier (differential amplifiercircuit) fed back to the gate voltage SEP1, the potential of the sharedsource terminal SAP on the high potential side is maintained at thepotential VOD. Afterwards, by turning the NMOS transistor 97 on (leavingthe PMOS transistors 94 and 95 off), the NMOS transistor 91 is turnedoff and the PMOS transistor 92 is turned on by the gate potential SEP2.This returns the bit line BL(T) or BL(N) to the external potential VDD.

The circuit shown in FIG. 15 includes only two types of pull-uptransistors and no current feeding power supply for generating theinternal potential VOD as shown in FIG. 13 is required. Instead, thecircuit requires an internal power supply circuit for generating thereference potential VOD. Turning such an internal power supply circuiton and making the internal power supply circuit function takes time, butthe process can take place during the period in which initial sensingoperation is driven by the NMOS transistor 91, so that voltage supplycan be started with no delay.

A sense amplifier driver circuit for greatly improving the DRAM drivecurrent will be described with reference to FIG. 17. Though a senseamplifier driver circuit 100 includes an NMOS transistor 101 for settingthe shared source line SAP on the high potential side to the overdrivepotential VOD and a PMOS transistor 102 for setting the shared sourceline SAP on the high potential side to the external potential VDD, incases where a sense amplifier activation circuit 103 makes overdrivingunnecessary, the NMOS transistor 101 is not used for pull-up operationand only the PMOS transistor 102 is made to perform pull-up operation.Since the sense amplifier circuit 53 includes small transistors, it isprone to performance variation. By performing overdriving for slow senseamplifier circuits and not performing overdriving for fast-enough senseamplifier circuits, the power consumed to drive the sense amplifiercircuits can be reduced.

In this case, however, in order to make the PMOS transistor 102 powerfulenough to drive the sense amplifier circuits by itself, it is necessaryto make the PMOS transistor 102 larger than in the foregoingembodiments. Making the PMOS transistor 102 larger, however, does notresult in an overall area increase. This is because internal powersupply circuits required for overdriving can be simplified and madesmaller compared with those used in cases where related-art circuitconfigurations are used. Hence, an overall area increase does notresult. Whether or not to enable overdriving can be set using anoverdrive activation flag ODE of a register 104 and the setting in theregister 104 can be switched during a memory production process or in atest process after production. Also, the flag data ODE may be set by aprogram circuit such as a fuse provided in the memory chip or in aseparate chip. FIG. 18 shows a layout of a DRAM memory array. A senseamplifier driver circuit arranged in a region 110 is coupled with manysense amplifier circuits arranged in a region 112. In a region 114, amemory cell array coupled to the sense amplifier circuits are arranged.When all sense amplifier circuits coupled to a sense amplifier drivercircuit can operate at a prescribed speed, it is determined thatoverdriving is not necessary. In this way, a circuit driving system canbe arranged such that overdriving is selectively performed only forchips or partial intra-chip areas which require overdrive assistance dueto production process variation or intra-chip transistor variation insense amplifiers. This limits the increase of current consumption bysense amplifier operation, so that the overall current consumption by aproduct as a whole can be greatly reduced.

Embodiments in which the present invention is applied to sense amplifiercircuits for memories have been described, but the invention can also beapplied to such large-load driver circuits as word line driver circuits,bit line precharge circuits, column selection circuits and data busdriver circuits or to other types of memory circuits.

The present invention has been concretely described based onembodiments, but the invention is not limited to the above embodimentsand can be modified in various ways without departing from the scope ofthe invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A semiconductor integrated circuit device,comprising: an external power supply terminal to be coupled to anexternal power supply; a driven circuit to be driven by an internalpotential lower than an external potential supplied from the externalpower supply; a step-down driver circuit to supply the internalpotential to the driven circuit, wherein the step-down driver circuitincludes an NMOS transistor having a drain coupled to the external powersupply terminal and a source coupled to a voltage supply point of thedriven circuit and a driver circuit including a logic circuit anddriving the NMOS transistor with an output of the logic circuit coupledto a gate of the NMOS transistor; and a timing generation circuit whichcontrols a conduction state of the NMOS transistor by controlling thedriver circuit, wherein an output potential of the logic circuit ishigher than the internal potential at least by a threshold voltage ofthe NMOS transistor, and wherein the timing generation circuit controlsthe driver circuit such that, when a predetermined period of timeelapses after the NMOS transistor is put in a conducting state, the NMOStransistor is put in a non-conducting state.
 2. The semiconductorintegrated circuit device according to claim 1, wherein the drivercircuit further includes a PMOS transistor having a drain coupled to thegate of the NMOS transistor and a source coupled to the external powersupply terminal, wherein the timing generation circuit controls thedriver circuit such that: the PMOS transistor of the driver circuit isput in a conducting state and the external potential is supplied to thegate of the NMOS transistor; then, after elapse of a first predeterminedperiod of time, the PMOS transistor is put in a non-conducting state andthe output potential is supplied from the logic circuit to the gate ofthe NMOS transistor; and then, after elapse of a second predeterminedperiod of time, the NMOS transistor is put in a non-conducting state. 3.The semiconductor integrated circuit device according to claim 2,further comprising an internal step-down power supply circuit forgenerating the internal potential, wherein a gate potential of the NMOStransistor is supplied by discharging, via a diode or a diode-coupledtransistor, charges supplied from the external power supply to the gateof the NMOS transistor to a potential point supplied with the internalpotential from the internal step-down power supply circuit.
 4. Thesemiconductor integrated circuit device according to claim 1, furthercomprising a limiter circuit to be coupled to the voltage supply pointof the driven circuit, the limiter circuit limiting a potential of thevoltage supply point of the driven circuit to the internal potential.